Further guidance to the financial mechanism

Taking note of the report of the Global Environment
Facility (UNEP/CBD/COP/7/9), as well as the compilation of past
guidance to the financial mechanism
(UNEP/CBD/COP/7/INF/1),

Urges the Council of the Global Environment
Facility to ensure participation by all Council members in its
meetings,

1.
Decides that the report from the Council of the Global
Environment Facility to the Conference of the Parties should be
made available three months prior to an ordinary meeting of the
Conference of the Parties as well as with updates as appropriate,
and in accordance with rules 28 and 54 of the Rules of Procedure
for meetings of the Conference of the Parties, the Executive
Secretary should make it available in all six United Nations
languages;

2.
Decides to provide the following additional guidance to the
Global Environment Facility in the provision of financial
resources, in accordance with Article 20 and Article 21, paragraph
1 of the Convention and in conformity with decisions I/2, II/6,
III/5, IV/13, V/13 and VI/17 of the Conference of the
Parties. In this regard, the Global Environment Facility
shall provide financial resources to developing country Parties,
taking into account the special needs of the least developed
countries and the small island developing States amongst them, for
country-driven activities and programmes, consistent with national
priorities and objectives and in accordance with the mandate of the
Global Environment Facility, recognizing that economic and social
development and poverty eradication are the first and overriding
priorities of developing countries, and taking fully into
consideration all relevant decisions from the Conference of the
Parties;

Marine and coastal biological
diversity

3.
Invites the Global Environment Facility, other funding
institutions, and development agencies to provide financial support
for the implementation of the elaborated programme of work on
marine and coastal biodiversity;

Monitoring and
indicators

4.
Recognizes that the development and use of indicators,
particularly in the development phase, requires a financial and
technical commitment from Parties, and therefore requests
the financial mechanism and encourages bilateral and
multilateral funding agencies to assist developing countries, in
particular the least developed and small island developing States
among them, and countries with economies in transition through the
provision of financial assistance and training, as required and as
appropriate, to develop and implement effective biodiversity
indicators;

Ecosystem
approach

5.
Invites the Global Environment Facility, in accordance with
its mandate, and other funding institutions and development
agencies to provide financial support for the implementation of the
ecosystem approach, in accordance with decision VII/11;

Biological diversity and
climate change

6.
Requests the financial mechanism, in accordance with its
mandate, and invites other sources to provide financial
support to developing country Parties, in particular the least
developed and small island developing States among them, and
countries with economies in transition, where appropriate,
for:

(a)
Country-driven activities, including pilot projects, aimed at
projects related to ecosystem conservation, restoration of degraded
lands and marine environments and overall ecosystem integrity that
take into account impacts of climate change;

(b)
Assistance in capacity-building with the aim of increasing the
effectiveness in addressing environmental issues through their
commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity, the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, inter alia, by applying the ecosystem
approach;

(c)
Assistance in developing synergy-oriented programmes to conserve
and sustainably manage all ecosystems, such as forests, wetlands
and marine environments, that also contribute to poverty
eradication;

Global Taxonomy
Initiative

7.
Invites Parties,
other Governments, regional and international organizations to take
full account of the importance of taxonomic capacities in achieving
the goals of the Convention, to support taxonomic activities to
attain the 2010 target, and to provide all necessary support to
national, and where appropriate regional , taxonomic centres of
research and expertise; and urges the Parties, other
Governments and the Global Environment Facility, in accordance with
its mandate, and other relevant funding organizations to provide
adequate and timely support to developing countries to assist in
the implementation of the Global Taxonomy Initiative, and for
integrating taxonomic capacity-building activities into thematic
and cross-cutting programmes, including supporting activities and
projects, such as, where appropriate, stand-alone capacity-building
projects;

Sustainable
use

8.
Invites Parties and Governments, in collaboration with the
Global Environment Facility and other relevant organizations,
including the private sector, to develop and transfer technologies
and provide financial support to assist in the implementation of
the Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines at the national level to
ensure that the use of biological diversity is
sustainable;

Invasive alien
species

9.
Invites the Global Environment Facility, in accordance with
its mandate, other funding institutions and development agencies to
provide financial support to developing countries, in particular
the least develop countries and small island developing States
among them, and countries with economies in transition, to assist
in the improved prevention, rapid response and management measures
to address threats of alien invasive species;

Protected
areas

10.
Requests the Global Environment Facility, respecting national
targets and priorities, to support the implementation of the
programme of work, and in particular to:

(a)
In collaboration with other donors, encourage increased support to
address the long-term financial sustainability of protected areas,
including through different mechanisms and instruments, to help
achieve the target of securing, by 2008, sufficient resources to
meet the costs to effectively implement and manage national and
regional systems of protected areas;

(b)
Further develop its portfolio on protected areas towards
comprehensive, representative and effectively managed protected
area systems addressing system wide needs; and

(c)
Support country driven early action by continuing to streamline its
procedures and the provision of fast disbursing resources through
expedited means.

Strategic
Plan

11.
Invites the Global Environment Facility, in accordance with
its mandate, to provide adequate and timely support to developing
country Parties, in particular the least developed countries and
small island developing States among them, and Parties with
economies in transition, as appropriate for the implementation of
activities to achieve and monitor progress towards the goals and
targets identified in the framework for evaluation of progress
towards implemention of the Strategic Plan of the Convention, in
accordance with decision VII/30;

Technology transfer and
cooperation

12.
Decides that based on needs and priorities identified by developing
country Parties and countries with economies in transition, the
Global Environment Facility, in accordance with its mandate and in
collaboration with other interested funding agencies, shall, as
appropriate, provide adequate and timely financial support for the
implementation of the programme of work on technology transfer and
technological and scientific cooperation, consistent with Articles
16 to 20 of the Convention, and in particular for:

(a)
Building policy, legal, judicial and administrative
capacity;

(b)
Facilitating access to relevant proprietary
technologies;

(c)
Providing other financial and non-financial incentives for the
diffusion of relevant technologies;

(d) Building
capacities of, and empowering, indigenous and local communities and
all relevant stakeholders with respect to access to and use of
relevant technologies;

(e)
Improving the capacity of national research institutions in
developing countries and countries with economies in transition for
the development of technologies, as well as for adaptation,
diffusion and the further development of imported technologies
consistent with their transfer agreement and international law
including through fellowships and international exchange
programmes;

(f)
Supporting the development and operation of regional or
international initiatives to assist technology transfer and
cooperation as well as scientific and technical cooperation,
including those initiatives designed to facilitate South-South
cooperation and South-South joint development of new technologies
and also such cooperation among countries with economies in
transition;

Millennium Development
Goals

13.
Urges Parties, Governments, international financial
institutions, donors, and relevant interGovernmental organizations,
as a contribution towards the Millennium Development Goals, to
implement development activities in ways that are consistent with,
and do not compromise, the achievement of the objectives of the
Convention on Biological Diversity and the 2010 target, including
by improving environmental policies in relevant development
agencies and sectors such as through integrating concerns relating
to biodiversity and the Millennium Development Goals more directly
into environmental impact assessments, strategic environmental
assessments and other such tools, including at the national level
through the national strategies for sustainable development and the
poverty reduction strategies and programmes, and invites the
Global Environment Facility to support capacity-building activities
in developing countries for this purpose;

National
reporting

14.
Encourages Parties,
Governments, relevant bilateral, regional and multilateral
organizations, and the Global Environment Facility to collaborate
to strengthen the various capacities of Parties, particularly
developing country Parties and countries with economies in
transition, to prepare their future national and thematic
reports;

15.
Further encourages Parties, Governments, relevant bilateral,
regional and multilateral organizations, and the Global Environment
Facility, to analyse the progress of Parties, particularly
developing country Parties and countries with economies in
transition, in implementing the Convention, in relation to those
areas identified as a priority by those countries, in order to
inter alia assist them in the preparation of their future
national reports;

16.
Requests the Global
Environment Facility to explore ways to expedite and simplify its
procedures for allocating funds to the eligible countries to
prepare their national reports to fulfil their reporting
obligations under the Convention;

17.
Invites the Global Environment Facility to provide the
necessary financial support to facilitate the preparation of the
third national reports by the Parties;

Education and public
awareness

18.
Invites the Global Environment Facility, in accordance with its
mandate, and other donor organizations to provide funding to
developing countries, particularly the least developed and small
island developing States among them, and countries with economies
in transition for the implementation of their national
communication, education and public-awareness programmes and
activities;

Access to genetic resources
and fair and equitable sharing of benefits

19.
Reiterates its guidance to the Global Environment Facility,
as the institutional structure operating the financial mechanism of
the Convention, to provide financial resources for country-driven
projects based on national priorities that assist with the
implementation of the Action Plan in support of the implementation
of the Bonn Guidelines on Access to Genetic Resources and Fair and
Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising out of their Utilization, and
further requests the Global Environment Facility, in accordance
with its mandate, to support capacity-building regarding the
transfer of technologies which enables providers to fully
appreciate and actively participate in benefit-sharing arrangements
at the stage of granting access permits;

Biosafety

Welcoming
the biosafety capacity-building initiatives of
the Global Environment Facility and its implementing
agencies,

Recognizing
the need to ensure that guidance to the
financial mechanism will support in a balanced manner the
objectives of the Convention and its Protocol,

Stressing the need for
mutual information, coordinated action and regular monitoring in
order to avoid duplication and to identify gaps and possible
synergies because of the multitude of different actors undertaking
various capacity‑building initiatives, and for an active role
the Executive Secretary should play in promoting this
process,

Confirming that the
arrangements between the Conference of the Parties and the Council
of the Global Environment Facility provided for in the Memorandum
of Understanding adopted by the Conference of the Parties at its
third meeting will apply, mutatis
mutandis, for purposes of the
Cartagena Protocol,

20.
Decides to provide the following guidance to the Global Environment Facility to be
implemented in a timely manner;

21.
Decides also upon the following
eligibility criteria for funding by the Global Environment
Facility:

(a)
All developing countries, in
particular the least developed and small island developing States
among them, and countries with economies in transition, including
countries amongst these that are centres of origin and centres of
genetic diversity, which are Parties to the Protocol, are eligible
for funding by the Global Environment Facility in accordance with
its mandate;

(b)
All developing countries, in
particular the least developed and small island developing States
among them, and countries with economies in transition, including
countries amongst these that are centres of origin and centres of
genetic diversity, which are Parties to the Convention and provide
a clear political commitment towards becoming Parties to the
Protocol, shall also be eligible for funding by the Global
Environment Facility for the development of national biosafety
frameworks and the development of national biosafety
clearing-houses and other necessary institutional capabilities to
enable a non-Party to become a Party. Evidence of such political
commitment shall take the form of a written assurance to the
Executive Secretary that the country intends to become a Party to
the Protocol on completion of the activities to be
funded;

22.
Stresses that the provision of financial resources by the
Global Environment Facility shall be for country-driven activities
and programmes consistent with their national priorities and
objectives;

23.
Invites developed
country Parties, Governments, the Global Environment Facility,
other donor agencies and relevant organizations to provide
financial support and other assistance to developing country
Parties, in particular the least developed and the small island
developing States among them, and Parties with economies in
transition, including countries amongst these that are centres of
origin and centres of genetic diversity, to develop and implement
capacity-building activities, including organization of national,
regional and inter-regional capacity building workshops and
preparatory meetings;

24.
Invites the Global Environment
Facility to extend support for demonstration projects on
implementation of the national biosafety frameworks to other
eligible countries;

25.
Urges the Global Environment
Facility to ensure a rapid implementation of its initial strategy
for assisting countries to prepare for the ratification and
implementation of the Protocol, and to support capacity-building
for the establishment of national components of the Biosafety
Clearing-House in a flexible manner, and to provide additional
support for the development and/or strengthening of existing
national and regional centres for training; regulatory
institutions; risk assessment and risk management; infrastructure
for the detection, testing, identification and long-term monitoring
of living modified organisms; legal advice; decision-making;
handling of socio-economic considerations; awareness-raising and
technology transfer for biosafety;

26.
Notes that the
role of the Global Environment Facility, in accordance with its
mandate, in the Action Plan for Building Capacities for the
Effective Implementation of the Protocol, adopted by the Conference
of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety at its first meeting,
includes:

(a)
Providing funding and other assistance to build necessary
legislative and administrative frameworks, and for training in risk
assessment and risk management;

(b) Deciding
on further areas for financial support for capacity-building in
accordance with the identified priority needs of developing
countries and countries with economies in transition, responses to
the questionnaires, the outcomes of inter-sessional workshops, and
its previous pilot project on biosafety;

(c)
Implementing the GEF Strategy to Assist Countries to Ratify and
Implement the Protocol on Biosafety;

(d)
Facilitating the provision of technical support; and

(e)
Facilitating the use of existing and developing regional
networks.